Live music and stuff in Santander and Las Palmas, December 2022

This is what I’ve seen in the last month of 2022:

• 1 December: Víctor Antón Group @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4, Santander
  A modern jazz quartet featuring Naíma Acuña (drums), Víctor Antón (guitar), Javier Moreno (double bass) and Juan Sebastián Vázquez (piano), presenting their brand new album Centennial Light. Watch the full concert here.

  

• 3 December: Live de Objetos y Cassettes @ Eureka Santander, Calle San Simón, 8
  Sarah Rasines used cassettes and mechanical objects in her live electronic music show. It lasted about 15 minutes, which was about as long as I was prepared to listen to it.

  

• 4 December: Jazz Jam @ Rvbicón
  The base band of Nadir Ibarra (tenor sax), Rafa Santana (piano), Toño Gutiérrez (bass) and Marcial García (drums), plus students of the Conservatorio Ataulfo Argenta and the usual suspects Manuel Cavero (double bass), Adela San Miguel (drums), Rodri Irizábal (drums), Manuel San Emeterio (guitar), Pancho Arredondo (trumpet, vocals), Carlos Pizarro (guitar) and others.
• 7 December: The New World Band @ Rvbicón
  A different line-up compared to that of 25 May, featuring Sean Clapis (guitar), Darío Guibert (double bass), Daniel Juárez (tenor sax) and Marc Pinyol (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 11 December: La Mala Hierba @ Rvbicón
  With Gema Martínez (vocals) and Nico Rodríguez (guitar); this happened to be the last concert I saw in Rvbicón this year. Watch the full concert here.

  

Back to Las Palmas, I was lucky to attend all eight — well, seven and a half — concerts from the cycle «Jazz entre muros» at Museo Castillo de Mata (Calle Domingo Guerra del Río, 147):

• 21 December, 20:00: Javier Infante and Jose Alberto Medina
  Say no more.
• 21 December, 21:00: Pablo Queu
  Energetic jazz-funk band featuring Alberto Díaz (trombone), Emilio Diena (drums), Ruyman Franco (bass guitar), Claudio Marrero (tenor sax) and Pablo Quintana Guillén (guitar).



• 22 December, 20:00: Chano Gil Quartett
  Chano Gil (trumpet, flugelhorn), Yul Ballesteros (guitar), Paco Perera (double bass) and Javier Montero (drums).
• 22 December, 21:00: Trijazzic
  Luis Merino (guitar), Esther Suárez (vocals), Miriam Fleitas (vocals), José Carlos Cejudo (bass guitar) and Juan Pérez (drums).



• 29 December, 20:00: Alba Serrano and Cristóbal Montesdeoca
  Alba Serrano (vocals) and Cristóbal Montesdeoca (piano) performed songs from their new, mostly Lusophone, album Viagem.
• 29 December, 21:00: Alba Gil Aceytuno «Aguayro»
  It started to rain during the first song; luckily, the concert was not interrupted. With Alba Gil Aceytuno (sax, flute, keys, vocals), Alberto Díaz (trombone), José Carlos Cejudo (bass guitar), Luis Merino (guitar) and Juan Pérez (drums).



• 30 December, 20:00: Takeo Takahashi
  Would you believe it, by 19:45 it was full so I had to wait another half an hour till somebody left and they allowed me to enter. As a result, I only heard the last three songs. Kervin Barreto (trumpet, percussion), José Carlos Cejudo (bass guitar), Octavio Hernández (guitar), Santiago “Chago” Miranda (guitar) and Takeo Takahashi (drums, guitar), with a special guest Patricia Legardon (vocals).
• 30 December, 21:00: Bjazz «EnCanto de Mujer»
  With Sara Brito (flute), Samantha de León (double bass), Judith Martín González (trumpet), Amelia Gutiérrez (drums), Moneiba Hidalgo (vocals) and Sun-Young Park (piano), performing standards by Nina Simone, Consuelo Velázquez, Aretha Franklin and others.

In the same Castillo de Mata one can see the exhibition «Ars Botanica, simbólica naturaleza», a tribute to David Bramwell (1942—2022), director of Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo between 1974 and 2012. The exhibition features works by Fernando Álamo, Juan Pedro Ayala, Kōno Bairei, Marisa Culatto, Marta Chirino, Pepe Dámaso, César Manrique, Néstor, Nellie Roberts and various illustrators of 18^th and 19^th centuries. Until 18 March 2023.

Happy New Year, everybody.

MicroRelatos 2021

by Various Authors

For weeks, a stack of these books was gracing gathering dust at the entrance to Rvbicón, so I took one home, where it continued to gather dust for another six months or so, until I decided to tidy my desk and... brought the book with me to the beach. What a good idea! I read most of it while sunbathing, and finished it the following week.

The book contains 34 short stories selected from 882 submissions to the XIV competition organised by the association Sol Cultural. All the stories are based on the winning photos of the XIX Photography Contest (by the same association) and are no longer than 150 words.

Here is my favourite story of the book:

Llueve

¿Recuerdas que nos imaginábamos juntos y viejos como esa casa que se desintegra de a poco, orgullosa de mantenerse en pie mientras el tiempo la corroe; que no deja que le maquillen sus paredes, porque se estropearían las nubes que siempre dan lluvia en tardes de encuentros y despedidas? Hoy, después de llevarte flores, entré a esperarte.

Magdalena Novoa Uquillas
Quito, Ecuador

В этом мире / In This World

by Аллегро / Allegro

One dark, late autumn afternoon in 1982, I found myself in the Мелодия (Melodiya) record shop on Kalininski Prospekt. Long winding queues were filling up most of the space on the ground floor; the shop assistants were shouting to the cashiers to stop accepting payments for a certain item^*. This item turned out to be David Tukhmanov’s latest album, Н.Л.О. (UFO). So it wasn’t meant to be, at least this time.

Undeterred by this setback, I headed to another section of the shop. And there it was, this LP of a band I never heard about, with a not particularly original name «Аллегро» (Allegro). Curiously enough, the English title, In This World, was taking a greater area of the sleeve than its Russian version, «В этом мире». The liner notes by Alexei Batashev (Алексей Баташёв)^†, as always, were over the top; they still make me laugh in embarrassment:

Здесь и «хамелеоновское остинато» Хэнкока, и «апокалиптические скрипки» Махавишну, и инструментальные песни Гарбарека, и витиеватые унисоны Кориа, а то и какой-нибудь «сарказм» с прокофьевской чертовщинкой.

Here are “chameleonic ostinato” of Hancock as well as “apocalyptic violins” of Mahavishnu, instrumental songs of Garbarek, ornate unisons of Corea, and even some sort of “sarcasm” with Prokofiev’s devilry.

Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to get back home to listen to my new purchase — and it didn’t disappoint. The music was unlike anything I heard before. Besides, it was not that common for a jazz composition to take a whole side of a vinyl. It had grown to be one of my favourite albums of Soviet jazz and, without being acquainted with any work of the aforementioned Western musicians, one of my favourite jazz-rock records, ever. Also, the bass playing by Viktor Dvoskin became a true inspiration for me. Not that I’ve progressed much during the last 40 years, but still.

Listening to it now, I can hear the influences of all the artists listed by Batashev and more — but also, with more clarity, Allegro’s own unique sound. I’d love to have In This World on CD but it doesn’t look that it even exists.

In memory of Yuri Genbachev (12.10.1941 — 31.12.2017) and Alexei Batashev (7.09.1934 — 14.05.2021).

В этом мире	In This World
В этом мире. Джазовая композиция в 4-х частях (Н. Левиновский) 22:10 Легенда. Джазовая композиция в 3-х частях (Н. Левиновский) 20:53	In This World. Jazz composition in four movements (N. Levinovsky) 22:10 Legend. Jazz composition in three movements (N. Levinovsky) 20:53
Джаз-ансамбль «Аллегро»	Allegro Jazz Ensemble
Николай Левиновский, фортепиано, электропиано, синтезаторы «Минимуг» и ARP Сергей Гурбелошвили, саксофоны Виктор Двоскин, контрабас Юрий Генбачёв, ударные Виктор Епанешников, барабаны	Nikolai Levinovsky: piano, electric piano, Minimoog and ARP Sergey Gurbeloshvili: saxophones Viktor Dvoskin: double bass Yuri Genbachev: percussion Viktor Yepaneshnikov: drums

__________________________________________________

*	For those unfamiliar with the Soviet-time triple queuing system: the first queue, to the counter to order the goods; then to the cashier’s desk to pay; the final one back to the counter to collect your purchase.
†	A couple of years later, I’d see Alexei Nikolaevich himself introducing the very Allegro, albeit with a different line-up, in a concert. Back then it would be difficult to go to any jazz performance in Moscow that would not be presented by him.

The Killers

a film by Robert Siodmak
score by Miklós Rózsa

Ah, those were the days when life insurance investigators were sharper and sexier than both policemen and their adversaries. Or, at least, their male adversaries. This classic 1946 film noir stars then virtually unknown Ava Gardner — born 100 years ago today — as the femme fatale Kitty and, in his cinematic debut, Burt Lancaster as a handsome and not too bright ex-boxer, “The Swede”. However, it’s Edmond O’Brien (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) as Jim Reardon who is the best actor here. Vince Barnett appears in a small but memorable role of Charleston, the astronomy-loving thief.

Reardon: How well did you know the Swede?
Charleston: Me? Mister, I guess me and the Swede were about as close as two guys can get. For nearly two years we weren’t more than eight and a half feet apart. That’s how big the cell was.

Reardon: When was the last time you saw him?
Charleston: Mister, did you say “when?”
Reardon: Yes.
Charleston: Mister, when it comes to dates, 1492 is the only one I can remember.

Some curiosities: like Double Indemnity, another classic of the genre, The Killers was nominated for a bunch of Academy Awards but didn’t win any. Next one: although the film was promoted as “Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers”, it’s only the opening sequence that it based on the Hemingway’s 1927 short story. And, as I’ve just learned, the same story was adapted ten years later by Andrei Tarkovsky for his first picture, Убийцы, where “The Swede” was played by Vasily Shukshin, also in his film debut.

Mantícora

a film by Carlos Vermut

Almost two hours of uncomfortable viewing featuring a creepy video game developer (Nacho Sánchez), cute girlfriend (Zoe Stein) and thoroughly lame ending. I appreciate the director’s bravery (attempting to tackle a difficult theme, blah blah blah), now let me out of here. The only positive experience of all this was my first visit to Los Ángeles — I mean the movie theatre (Calle Ruamayor, 6). Luckily, it was not the last film I saw in Santander this year.

باد ما را خواهد برد

a film by Abbas Kiarostami

The Wind Will Carry Us is one of those films where not much happens and is all the greater for that. The action is mostly confined to the protagonist (Behzad Dorani) engaging in conversations, often with invisible interlocutors. And when those are seen, it’s almost too much action.

The title is taken from a poem by Forugh Farrokhzad that Behzad recites to Zeynab in practically complete darkness. I watched the film in VOSE and so the poem appeared in Spanish translation. The English version by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak could be read here.

O que arde

a film by Oliver Laxe

A powerful and touching drama starring Benedicta Sánchez in her cinematic debut at a tender young age of 84.

PlayTime

a film by Jacques Tati

A futuristic absurdist comedy predating Monty Python, Playtime is considered one of the greatest films of all time. In my opinion, it could have been even greater if it was shorter. The Royal Garden sequence (one hour of screen time) has its highlights but quickly grows too predictable.

Live music and stuff in Santander and Valencia, November 2022

This is what I’ve seen in November:

• 2 November: Xur Estévez Quartet @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4, Santander
  With Xur Estévez (double bass), Pablo Costas (piano), Ancor Miranda (drums) and Pablo Maza (tenor sax, flute). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 5 November: La Chica @ Centro Botín, Muelle de Albareda, Paseo de Pereda
  One hell of an artist and one hell of a concert.
• 6 November: Jazz Jam @ Rvbicón
  The base band of Javier San Miguel (sax), Carlos Pizarro (guitar), Diego Gutiérrez (drums), Manuel Cavero (double bass) with the guests Pancho Arredondo (trumpet), Nadir Ibarra (tenor sax), Adela San Miguel (drums), Rafa Santana (piano) and others.
• 9 November: Marz García 4tet @ Rvbicón
  A quartet featuring Nico Alvear (guitar), Iván Ceballos (electric bass), Marz García (drums) and Juan Saiz (sax, flute). Themes of Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard and, closer to the end, a wonderful rendition of Nature Boy. Watch the full concert here.

  

• 12 November: Día Internacional del Flamenco @ Plaza del Ayuntamiento
  There were shows at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento both Friday and Saturday; I only came to see these two Saturday evening:
  • Another “not-quite-flashmob” choreographed by Lucía Serrano, accompanied by Jose Hernández (cante), el toque de Antonio León (guitar) and y la percusión de Dani Peña (percussion).
  • Tablao by Compañía Paula Rodríguez, featuring the very Paula Rodríguez (baile), Jose Luis Medina (guitar), Roberto Lorente and Niño Ginés (cante).

  

• 18 November: Luna Sefardita @ Salón de Actos E.T.S. de Náutica de la Universidad de Cantabria, Calle Gamazo, 1
  Ana Alcaide (vocals, nyckelharpa), Bill Cooley (percussion) and Rainer Seiferth (guitars).

What I saw during my (way too) short holidays in Valencia:

• Four exhibitions at Museu Valencià de la Il·lustració i de la Modernitat (MuVIM), Carrer de Quevedo, 10, Valencia:
  • Disseny + Salut (“Design + Health”)
    A fascinating exhibition covering various aspects of design applied to health, from medical illustration and pills to CoVID-19 propaganda and sex toys.
  • Elena Francis. Franquisme i subordinació de la dona
    Consultorio de Elena Francis was a Spanish radio programme broadcast between 1947 and 1984. In spite of her utter non-existence, the fictitious agony aunt Elena Francis was tremendously popular: every month, women from all over Spain were sending her some 20,000 letters. Invariably, Ms. Francis recommended patience and submission. From 1966 and till the programme’s demise, it was actually a man, one Juan Soto Viñolo, who single-handedly dispatched those advices to anxious radio listeners. The booklet of the exhibition (in Valencian and Spanish) is available here.
  • Joan Martí: l’ofici d’escultor
    A sample of the creative process of Joan Martí (1946—2004), the author of Els Guardians del Pont (“The Guardians of the Bridge”) of the Pont del Regne de València.

    

  • València segons el Pare Tosca
    A three-dimensional recreation of the Father Tomás Vicente Tosca’s map of Valencia (1704). The detailed description available as a PDF file in Valencian, Spanish and English.

    

• Four exhibitions at Centre Cultural La Nau, Carrer de la Universitat, 2:
  • No tan invisibles: Dones en la impremta Valenciana. Segles XVI al XXI.
    Documenting the role of women in Valencian printing industry from 16^th centrury till now.

    

  • València 1972: Cap a la ciutat monstre (“Valencia 1972: Towards the Monster City”).
    The transformation of the urban space of Valencia during the last 50 years.
  • Sanchis Guarner, il·lustrador. Els dibuixos del llibre (1972) sobre la ciutat de València.
    The drawings by Manuel Sanchis i Guarner for his fundamental book La Ciutat de València. Síntesi d’història i geografia urbana (1972), none of which, however, made it into the final edition.

    

  • Negro Espanto
    Presentation of comic books Espanto by Laura Pérez and Goya. Saturnalia by Manuel Gutiérrez and Manuel Romero.

    

• 24 November: The Hillbilly Moon Explosion @ 16 Toneladas, Carrer de Ricardo Micó, 3
  The only concert I attended in Valencia had to be this one! Some new songs and old favourites that I first heard (and fell in love with) five years ago. Featuring Oliver Baroni (double bass, vocals), Emanuela Hutter (vocals, guitar), Duncan James (lead guitar, baritone guitar, vocals) and Sylvain Petite (drums).

Back to Santander and counting the days to go home.

Amarcord

a film by Federico Fellini
score by Nino Rota

It’s been a while since I watched Amarcord last time, still in Soviet (or maybe early post-Soviet?) era. Just like Cabaret, it was (brilliantly) voiced-over in Russian by Victor Tatarsky who sadly passed away this year. Now, watching it at the Filmoteca de València (and subtitled in Valencian!), I was able, for the first time, to enjoy the original Italian version in its full glory. It didn’t disappoint.

Dos vidas

by Emanuele Trevi
translated by Juan Manuel Salmerón Arjona

From an Italian writer I never heard about comes this homage to his friends, two other Italian writers I also never heard about. It may not sound terribly exciting, but the book it totally worth reading. For those who hates biographies: it’s not a biography. (Ditto for those who loves biographies.) A memoir? An essay? A novel? Who cares? I got intrigued with the protagonists, Rocco Carbone and Pia Pera — no, these are not made-up names. Especially with the latter, who translated to Italian works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Chekhov and even protopope Avvakum, among others, and whose Lo’s Diary is now on my to-read (when?!) list.

Tendría que haberme apresurado a tomar notas, a retener algo antes de que fuera demasiado tarde. Como flores de manzano que la brisa se lleva, también los requerdos de las personas a las que conocimos tan bien que la costumbre se volvió un reflejo condicionado vuelan y se alejan con una rapidez inconcebible. Pensamos que hemos acumulado muchos, que son tan numerosos y vívidos que no se extinguirán nunca, y de pronto vemos que no nos queda en la mano más que un revoloteo de imágenes inciertas y fugitivas. Formas de memoria tan insignificantes y menudas que equivalen al olvido.

Live music and stuff in Santander and Las Palmas, October 2022

It was an unusually warm month. I enjoyed it a lot.

Three exhibitions that I saw in Teatro CASYC (Calle Tantín, 25) on 1 of October:

• Fotografía de lo sublime. Las marinas de Gustave Le Gray (8 September — 1 October)
  A collection of 15 albumen silver prints by Gustave Le Gray taken between 1856 and 1857. (It was the last day of this exhibition, so I made an effort to go there after a lazy day on a beach.) Read more here.

  

• Dances With Wolves (7 September — 10 October)
  An audiovisual exhibition featuring 64 black-and-white photographs by Antonio Aragón Renuncio.

• Cuadernos de Bruselas II
  A set of beautiful nude drawings (2000) from the portfolio of Mª Antonia Sánchez Escalona.

  

A lot of music — more than I expected!

• 5 October: Nusondia @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4, Santander
  African music meets jazz-funk. Featuring Sabari Kurra (kora, vocals), Chema (keyboards) and Dani Martín (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 6 October: Maud the Moth @ Teatro CASYC, Calle Tantín, 25
  The Edinburgh-based composer, pianist and singer Amaya López-Carromero aka Maud the Moth opened her Spanish tour with this intimate concert, playing (mostly) the material from her last album Orphnē. A sumptuous and singular fusion of folk, electronica, classical music and prog-rock charmingly presented by a lady at the piano.

  

• 6—9 October: Sala del órgano @ El antiguo túnel de Tetuán
  An audiovisual show (lasting about five minutes) by Pablo Turanzas, at the Sardinero exit of the old Tetuan tunnel. A part of the festival Hágase la luz.

  

• 7 October: Tranki & Los Palos de Blues @ Plaza Pombo
  A local trio playing good old rock’n’roll; with collaboration dancing folk courtesy of Asociación Punto Swing Santander.
• 7—9 October: Sol de Otoño @ Calle del Sol
  I couldn’t attend all the activities but I went to see Deaf Dogs (Friday), Tomasito (Saturday) and Hendrik Röver & Los Míticos GT’s (that is, Goyo Chiquito & Toño López).

  

• 12 October: The Skin Tree Project @ Rvbicón
  A modern jazz trio featuring Sergio Rowles (electric guitar), Guillermo Suárez (double bass) and Mario Fuentes (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 14 October — 9 November: Tierra de sueños @ Plaza Porticada
  A colourful exhibition of photos by Cristina García Rodero showing the daily life of the residents of Anantapur, India.

  

A short holiday in Las Palmas...

• 17 October: El Mundo de Van Gogh @ INFECAR, Avenida de la Feria, 1, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  I missed (or rather ignored) this immersive experience all summer in Santander (26 May — 31 August), but it followed us to Las Palmas. We decided to give it a shot and were not disappointed. There was no need to buy tickets online as that involved paying €1.50 “gastos de gestión” per person.

• 19 October: Mariana @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4
  This young singer-songwriter from Tenerife participated in the acoustic indie programme of Festival CERO, playing mostly the songs from her debut album A Partir del Final.

  

Back to Santander...

• 23 October: Phil Grijuela @ Rvbicón
  A proof, if any was needed, that Spanish is not the best language for blues and rock, effortlessly provided by Phil Grijuela (guitar, harmonica, voice) and some guests who, thankfully, did not sing.

  

• 27 October: Solana @ Rvbicón
  A world music fusion band featuring Tamsin Elliott (accordion, flutes, voice), Rowan Elliott (violin, viola, cajón), Elio Araúz de Marcos (drums, percussion, voice), Jp Wolfgang (guitars) and Henry Edmonds (double bass, electric bass).

  

• 29 October: Context @ Café de Las Artes Teatro, Calle García Morato, 4
  A creation by Alessandro Carboni performed by Sara Capanna. I found its 30 minutes excruciatingly long and at the same time not providing enough value for its €11.

• 29 October: Crash Normal @ Cafe/Bar Bolero, Calle San Celedonio, 35
  Later the same evening: the Paris-based musician mixing the Greek rebetiko rhythms with psychedelic rock and electronica sounds in his new project Hypno Rebetiko, plus a mind-blowing version of Tomorrow Never Knows. To quote his BandCamp page,

  I’m here to celebrate the music of the outlaws, the pot smokers, the jailbirds and the gamblers but also those who would be able to spend 15 years in prison just for the love of someone.

  Free entrance and very agreeable ambience.

  

• 30 October: MAR (Micrófono Abierto Rvbicón) @ Rvbicón
  Many familiar faces, nothing extraordinary. I was half-expecting something in a Halloween-ish mood but no such luck, apart from a face-painted couple next to me.

  

Goodbye, October.

Filibus

a film by Mario Roncoroni

It’s been a while since I watched a film that old. A delightful silent — but not exactly black-and-white, as many scenes were toned — proto-steampunk adventure movie starring Valeria Creti as a cross-dressing (and potentially non-binary) Baroness Troixmonde/Count de la Brive/Filibus and Giovanni Spano as an esteemed but easily sedatable Detective Kutt-Hendy. The special effects which were not impressing anyone already in 1915 now only add to the charm.

Live music and theatre in Santander, September 2022

This is what I’ve seen in September:

• 7 September: The Silver Lining Serenaders @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol, 4, Santander
  Trad jazz and swing band from New Orleans. Featuring Ella Inglebret (violin, vocals), Scott Stobbe (guitar, vocals) and Ben Redwine (clarinet). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 13 September: Bywater Call @ El Almacén de Little Bobby, Calle del Sol, 20
  Dave Barnes (guitar), Stephen Dyte (trumpet), John Kervin (keys), Bruce McCarthy (drums), Mike Meusel (bass), Julian Nalli (tenor sax), Meghan Parnell (vocals). The price of tickets bought in advance was €14; at the entrance, €17; and online, €17 plus €1.70 “gastos de gestión”, €18.70 in total — daylight robbery. Luckily, I was able to get the “advance” tickets half an hour before the concert in the bar across the road.

  

• 20 September: Devórate @ Escena Miriñaque, Calle Isaac Peral, 9
  Since its 2019 première, Mari Paula’s creation has matured almost to perfection. That “plasticky” part in the middle is still a bit too long for my taste; otherwise, I enjoyed the show even more than three years ago.

  

• 21 September: Nico Andino Quartet @ Rvbicón
  With Nico Andino (trumpet), Nicolás Alvear (guitar), Jesús Pérez (electric bass) and Daniel Pimenta (drums). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 27 September: Kirie, las voces del alma @ Paraninfo de La Magdalena, Calle de la Familia Real, 8
  A show by Espacio Espiral directed by Cristina Samaniego. I liked the singing but struggled to keep awake during the narration.
• 28 September: Sed @ Escena Miriñaque
  A play by Quásar Teatro, directed and performed by Mónica González Megoya. I found it a bit long for its message.

• 28 September: Carlos Pizarro Trio @ Rvbicón
  Later the same evening: melodic modern jazz trio playing mostly original compositions. Featuring Diego Gutiérrez (drums), Javier Mayor (double bass) and Carlos Pizarro (guitar). Watch the full concert here.

  

• 30 September: Las Migas @ Teatro CASYC, Calle Tantín, 25
  Could there be a better way to finish a rainy day than to see Las Migas? Featuring Alicia Grillo (guitar, vocals), Carolina Fernández ‘La Chispa’ (lead vocals, dance), Laura Pacios (violin, vocals) and Marta Robles (guitar, vocals), plus Oriol Riart (double bass) and Guillem Arnau (drums, percussion). Marta Robles joked that they were dreaming of playing in Santander for the last 18 years (that is, from the moment the band was formed). A mix of old songs and material from their new album, Libres.

  

The summer is truly over now.

Das Mädchen und die Spinne

a film by Ramon Zürcher and Silvan Zürcher

No, people normally don’t talk like if they were reciting poetic prose. Also, they don’t normally act as if they were recreating poetic prose. But that’s the way it is in this film. Then again, people normally don’t talk like they talk in movies anyway. The Girl and the Spider just takes it to the next level. Past, present and potential future loves are coming together and part again in tentative, non-committal ways. Not much is going on otherwise — and why should it?

I still don’t know what to make of this film. I doubt it will be a commercial success anywhere, even in its native Switzerland. Let’s revisit this page twenty years later and check if it’s completely forgotten or became a cult picture. I loved the recurrence and interplay of the main theme by Philipp Moll with, wait a moment, Voyage, voyage — I’m also aware that it could be annoying.

Carajita

a film by Ulises Porra and Silvina Schnicer

Another film that I watched as a part of Santander Film Festival. A coproduction of Argentina and Dominican Republic, Carajita is a powerful drama starring Magnolia Núñez as Yarisa, Cecile van Welie as Sara and Adelanny Padilla as Mallory.

Sometimes I wish they put subtitles in Spanish-language films here. This was certainly the case with Carajita. So if you’re going to watch it in the cinema, be prepared to miss some of the dialogue.

El hombre que plantaba árboles

by Jean Giono
translated by Palmira Feixas
illustrated by Simona Mulazzani
preface by José Saramago
afterword by Joaquín Araújo

According to Wikipedia, The Man Who Planted Trees is Jean Giono’s best-known work outside France. Maybe because it was first published in English even though originally written in French. I myself read it in Spanish, in a form of a precious little hardback by Duomo Ediciones with illustrations by Simona Mulazzani.

A deeply touching story that might make you quit your job and dedicate the rest of your life to something useful, like planting acorns. The passage about the state functionaries paying visit to Elzéard Bouffier in order to protect the “natural forest” is priceless.

Rather fittingly, I thought, at the end of the book there was a note:

Este libro está impreso con el sol. La energía que ha hecho posible su impresión procede exclusivamente de paneles solares. Grafica Veneta es la primera imprenta en el mundo que no utiliza carbón.